The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted 64-32 to ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. President Barack Obama says he supports the proposed law, but House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, does not.

On Tuesday, Illinois' legislature voted to approve gay marriage and the state is likely to become the 15th, plus the District of Columbia, where it's legal. And last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal government must recognize all legally sanctioned same-sex marriages.

The modern LGBT rights movement seems to be progressing with intense speed. Many believe it all began 36 years ago in South Florida, when the Miami-Dade Commission adopted a countywide gay-rights ordinance.

"There was this one political activist who was reported as saying, 'When hell freezes over, gay rights will pass in Miami,'" recalls historian Fred Fejes, a professor at Florida Atlantic University. "Well it just so happens that on the day they passed the legislation, that it snowed for the first and only time in recorded history in Miami."

Singer and Florida orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant successfully campaigned to repeal Miami-Dade's 1977 gay-rights law, launching unprecedented public debate on homosexuality across the nation and around the world.

It took 21 years for Miami-Dade County to pass a new gay-rights law in 1998. This time, the ordinance survived a 2002 repeal effort similar to Bryant's.

The Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald in association with WPBT2 are completing an hour-long documentary about South Florida's role in the gay-rights movement. The movie, by Miami filmmaker Joe Cardona, is scheduled to air in early 2014.

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2013 – GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, is calling on the NFL, its teams, its players and its analysts to denounce the harmful notions of what it means to “be a man” that are being expressed in reaction to the alleged Miami Dolphins bullying case, including reports that the Dolphins’ general manager told player Jonathan Martin’s agent that Martin should have resorted to violence to respond to the alleged harassment and bullying.

In an interview unrelated to the Martin case earlier this week, former NFL player Kordell Stewart even went as far as to say he cannot be gay because he is “100% man.”

“Our children are watching and learning dangerous lessons from their heroes about what it means to be a ‘man,’” GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. “Being a man does not mean bullying someone. It does not mean responding to bullying with violence. And it certainly does not mean using racist and homophobic slurs to belittle someone and ‘toughen them up.’

“We often overlook the damaging gender stereotypes expressed in bullying, and the ways that sexism and homophobia work together to isolate and victimize young people. Pressures to ‘be a man’ or ‘act like a lady’ can do lasting physical and emotional harm, whether someone is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or not. Unfortunately, cultural institutions like the NFL sometimes reinforce, intentionally and unintentionally, these destructive norms, which we see played out every day at schools across the country. GLSEN is calling on the NFL and society as a whole to respond to this horrifying bullying incident and Stewart’s remarks with real thought and care about the messages we send our youth about bullying, gender and, frankly, just being decent human beings to each other – and to take action to ensure that we are creating a culture of respect for our youth.”

While many NFL players, coaches and officials deserve credit for speaking out against Richie Incognito’s behavior, below is a sample of the harmful statements prominent NFL-related figures have said about the incident:

“Playing football is a man’s job, and if there’s any weak link, it gets weeded out.”

"At this level, you're a man. You're not a little boy. You're not a freshman in college. You're a man. ... So, Richie Incognito, is he wrong? Absolutely. But I think the other guy is just as much to blame. Hopefully he's able to bounce back and recover from all that has happened and take awareness of, you know, man, you're a grown-ass man. You need to stand up for yourself.”

GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community. For information on GLSEN's research, educational resources, public policy advocacy, student organizing programs and educator training initiatives, visit www.glsen.org.

BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON

ASSOCIATED PRESS

TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a woman who donated an egg to her lesbian partner has parental rights to the child and is ordering a lower court to work out custody, child support and visitation arrangements.

The case involves two women, identified only by their initials, who had a child together. One donated an egg that was fertilized and implanted in the other, who gave birth in 2004.

But two years later the Brevard County couple split up, and the birth mother took the girl and left the country. The other woman, who identifies herself as the biological mother, used a private detective to find her former partner in Australia, and a custody fight ensued.

News release from U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, lead Republican sponsor of ENDA in the House:

Applauding the Senate on Passage of ENDA, Ros-Lehtinen States “All Americans Should Have Equal Rights at Work.”

"It isn't in our American tradition of fairness and non-discrimination to fire a worker merely because that person is gay."

Miami, Florida – Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was pleased with the bipartisan Senate vote to pass the Employer Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This legislation would give all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, expanded protections in the workplace. Ros-Lehtinen is the lead Republican sponsor of the ENDA companion bill also introduced by Congressman Jared Polis in the House of Representatives. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:

“Job discrimination doesn’t have a place in the 21st century. No one should be rejected an interview, fired from a job or denied a promotion because of who they are. It’s past time we end this unacceptable practice and measure an individual’s work based on performance. ENDA would allow Americans of any sexual orientation or gender identity to feel secure in their workplace. I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this bill so that all Americans may have equal rights at work.”

Washington, D.C. — Today, the United States Senate passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), legislation which provides employment protections for LGBT individuals in the workplace, with the votes of 10 Republicans. Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo issued the following statement:

After languishing in legislative limbo for 17 years, ENDA has finally passed the United States Senate in a vote that would not have been possible had Republicans not provided the margin of victory on the critical cloture vote earlier in the week.

While many are already beginning to wave the white flag on passage of ENDA in the House, Log Cabin Republicans has an optimistic view having recently met with nearly 50 House Republicans making the case that no one should be fired simply because they're gay. We are also encouraged by recent polling that finds a majority of Republicans in the U.S. are in favor of ENDA’s passage. The House GOP also just recently overwhelmingly passed legislation that, like ENDA, explicitly includes protections for LGBT individuals — the Violence Against Women Act.

Undoubtedly, the Republican Party is going through a cultural shift as more Republican legislators consistently step up for LGBT Americans. LCR believes this momentum already existing in the Party will help propel this bill to the House floor. Once there, we're confident it will pass. We encourage GOP House leadership of the 113th Congress to allow a conscience vote on ENDA and make history once again.

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate voted 64 to 32 to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) for the first time in the legislation’s two-decade history. All Senate Democrats joined 10 Senate Republicans to approve the bill.

“Today, a strong bipartisan majority of the United States Senate made history by standing up for a fundamental American truth. Each and every American worker should be judged based on the work they do, and never based on who they are. This broad Senate coalition has sent a vital message that civil rights legislation should never be tied up by partisan political games.

“We firmly believe that if the House of Representative were freed by Speaker John Boehner to vote its conscience, this bill could pass immediately. It’s unconscionable that any one person would stand in the way of this crucial piece of the civil rights puzzle.”

Earlier this week, House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, prematurely suggested that he will not bring ENDA to the floor for an up-or-down vote. However, that statement is already drawing public criticism from some in the speaker’s own party.

In an interview with Greg Sargent of the Washington Post, GOP Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said, “I believe the Speaker should allow a vote on this bill. […] I believe that the American public wants to make sure people are not discriminated against.”

“With today’s vote in the Senate, Majority Leader Reid, Chairman Harkin, lead sponsors Senators Merkley and Kirk, and Senators Collins and Baldwin have shown us all what leadership looks like. Now, Speaker Boehner should take up the mantle of leadership and allow the House to join them.”

Separately, President Obama is also empowered to sign a long-pending executive order that would protect the employees of federal contractors from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This order is not a silver bullet, and ENDA is vitally necessary after the order is signed. But the Human Rights Campaign has long argued that, by signing the order, President Obama can extend workplace protections to over 16 million American workers.

“We urge the House of Representatives to pass ENDA immediately, and we call on President Obama to send a clear message in support of workplace fairness by signing this executive order,” Griffin said.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

From the White House:

Statement by the President on Senate Passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2013

For more than two centuries, the story of our nation has been the story of more citizens realizing the rights and freedoms that are our birthright as Americans. Today, a bipartisan majority in the Senate took another important step in this journey by passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would help end the injustice of our fellow Americans being denied a job or fired just because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Just as no one in the United States can lose their job simply because of their race, gender, religion or a disability, no one should ever lose their job simply because of who they are or who they love.

Today’s victory is a tribute to all those who fought for this progress ever since a similar bill was introduced after the Stonewall riots more than three decades ago. In particular, I thank Majority Leader Reid, Chairman Harkin, Senators Merkley and Collins for their leadership, and Senator Kirk for speaking so eloquently in support of this legislation. Now it’s up to the House of Representatives. This bill has the overwhelming support of the American people, including a majority of Republican voters, as well as many corporations, small businesses and faith communities. They recognize that our country will be more just and more prosperous when we harness the God-given talents of every individual.

One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do. Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it. I urge the House Republican leadership to bring this bill to the floor for a vote and send it to my desk so I can sign it into law. On that day, our nation will take another historic step toward fulfilling the founding ideals that define us as Americans.

Despite the bipartisan vote, the measure's chances in the House are dim. Speaker John Boehner calls the shots, and he opposes the bill.

Gay rights advocates hailed Senate passage as a major victory in a year of significant change.

The Supreme Court in June affirmed gay marriage and granted federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. Illinois is on the verge of becoming the 15th state to legalize gay marriage along with the District of Columbia.

Star Trek co-star George Takei says it took another famous movie actor to drive him out of the closet, when in 2005 California’s then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger terminated the state’s just-passed gay marriage law.

“He’s a Republican and he played to his arch-conservative sector of that Republican base and he vetoed that bill,” Takei recalls. “My blood was boiling but we were silent.”

That night, he and longtime partner Brad Altman watched TV news. “We saw young people pouring out onto Santa Monica Boulevard, venting their rage at Arnold Schwarzenegger and I felt the need to speak out. Brad and I discussed it and we decided that I would speak to the press for the first time as a gay man. It was from that point that I became active. I joined the Human Rights Campaign and went on a nationwide speaking tour.”

Three years later, California’s Supreme Court reinstated the marriage law. Takei and Altman, together more than 20 years at the time, wed in 2008.

Saturday night, Takei receives a national leadership award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force at its 17th annual Miami Recognition Dinner. The sold-out event at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach also honors activist Joseph Falk, a Miami mortgage broker, with the 2013 Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award.

Known as Mr. Sulu during Star Trek’s glory years in the 1960s and ‘70s, Takei says back then he lived in “constant, ever-present fear of being exposed.”

Now 76, Takei is a spokesman for AARP, the national association for people age 50 and up.

“I like to think that I bring a larger demographic than the traditional AARP demographic,” he says. “The children of Star Trek fans are also Star Trek fans. They grew up on the Next Generation spinoffs of Star Trek and they are just as interested in sci-fi and technology and the future as their parents are. And they are now approaching AARP age.”

BY JUERGEN BAETZ

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRUSSELS -- Refugees facing imprisonment in their home country because they are gay may have grounds to be granted asylum in the European Union, the 28-nation bloc's top court ruled Thursday.

The existence of laws imprisoning gay people "may constitute an act of persecution per se" if they are routinely enforced, the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice ruled.

A gay person cannot be expected to conceal his sexual orientation in his home country to avoid persecution, since it would amount to renouncing a "characteristic fundamental to a person's identity," the court added.

International treaties say people must prove they have a "well-founded fear" of persecution for reasons of race, religion, ethnicity or political opinion if they are to obtain asylum.

The European court ruled on the cases of three people from Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal seeking asylum in the Netherlands.

Worldwide, more than 70 countries have laws that are used to criminalize people on the basis of sexual orientation, according to the International Commission of Jurists, an advocacy group. The laws typically prohibit either certain types of sexual activity or contain a blanket ban on intimacy and sexual activity between members of the same sex.